If you hear a crying kitten outside at night, your first instinct may be to bring them inside and care for them. However, taking in a stray kitten, especially at night, requires careful consideration of their health, safety, and your ability to provide.
This article explores whether you should ignore a crying kitten after dark or welcome them into your home.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: While a crying kitten tugs at the heartstrings, think twice before taking one in at night when veterinary care is limited. Ensure you can provide for their long-term needs before inviting them inside.
Assessing the Kitten’s Health and Age
Check for injuries or illness
When you find a crying kitten outside at night, it’s important to check its health before deciding what to do. Look for any signs of injury, illness or distress. Gently inspect the kitten for wounds, bleeding, broken bones or other trauma.
Check its eyes, nose and mouth for discharge, which could indicate infection. Feel its body for any swelling or hot spots, which may signal injury or illness. Listen to its breathing – rapid, shallow breaths could mean pneumonia or other respiratory issues.
And gently pinch its skin to check for dehydration.
If the kitten seems injured or unwell, it needs medical attention right away. Contact an emergency vet clinic or animal rescue group for help. They can properly assess the kitten’s condition and provide any needed treatment.
Don’t attempt to treat injuries or illness yourself, as you may inadvertently cause harm.
Estimate the kitten’s age
Estimating the kitten’s age will give you a better sense of its needs and ability to survive on its own. Very young kittens, between 0-4 weeks old, are completely dependent on their mother and unable to regulate their own body temperature.
Kittens 4-8 weeks old can survive a few hours alone but still require a mother’s care. Kittens 8-12 weeks old are weaned but may still need supplemental feeding and protection. Kittens over 12 weeks old can usually fend for themselves.
To estimate age, look at the kitten’s size, fur development, eyes and ears. Newborns are just a few inches long, eyes closed and ears folded. At 2 weeks, eyes open and ears start to unfold. At 4 weeks, they quadruple their birth weight and baby teeth emerge.
From 8-12 weeks, they develop coordination and curiosity. If you’re unsure of age, err on the side of caution and get the kitten to an expert for evaluation.
Consider health risks to people and pets
While your instinct may be to scoop up a crying kitten, be cautious about contact due to potential health risks. Stray kittens can carry parasites like fleas, ticks and ear mites, which could get on people and pets.
More seriously, they may have viruses like feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency virus, which are extremely contagious. Kittens can also transmit bacterial infections through bites and scratches.
To protect yourself and your resident pets, avoid direct contact with the kitten until properly examined by a vet. Confine it to a safe carrier or room away from other animals. Thoroughly wash hands and disinfect any items the kitten touched.
Have it tested for infectious diseases before introducing it to your home or pets. With caution, you can safely assist a stray kitten without endangering your family’s health.
Evaluating Your Ability to Care for a Kitten
Food and nutrition needs
To determine if you can adequately care for a crying kitten, you should consider the specialized diet they require. Kittens need multiple small meals per day of premium canned and dry kitten food rich in protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals to help support their growth and development.
Feeding an appropriate diet is crucial, but can cost $30-60 per month.
Litter box training
Kittens require dedicated time and patience for successful litter training, even in the middle of the night when they may wake you up crying. You’ll need to provide an accessible litter box and gradually teach good “potty” habits. Expect accidents during this process.
Also budget $15-30+ per month for clumping cat litter and regular litter box cleaning supplies.
Providing warmth, comfort, and stimulation
Kittens have specific needs for comfort, warmth, and mental/physical stimulation which require interactive playtime, scratching posts, cat trees to climb, cozy beds, and regular positive human attention.
Make sure you have enough time to meet these needs which help kittens thrive and prevent overnight crying. You should plan to spend dedicated one-on-one play and snuggle sessions daily.
Veterinary and medical expenses
As a kitten caregiver, you must be financially and practically able to provide veterinary care. Kittens require a series of vaccinations, deworming, spay/neuter surgery, and may have unexpected illnesses. Average first year costs exceed $1000.
Also consider regular costs for flea/tick/heartworm prevention medication. Evaluate pet insurance options as well before taking in a kitten.
With adequate prep, the joy of raising a kitten will far outweigh the demands. But be realistic – if you cannot meet a kitten’s complex nutritional, housing, training, attention, and healthcare needs around the clock, it may be best to wait for a more stable situation.
Alternatives to Taking In a Stray Kitten
Contact animal rescue groups
Instead of taking in a stray kitten yourself, consider contacting local animal rescue groups or no-kill shelters in your area. Many of these organizations have the resources and experience to care for stray kittens appropriately.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), over 3.2 million cats enter animal shelters across the country every year.
For example, you can search for rescue groups on sites like Petfinder. Provide details about when and where you spotted the kitten. Rescuers may be able to dispatch a volunteer to assess the kitten’s condition and situation.
If needed, they can set humane traps to capture the kitten for veterinary treatment and eventual adoption.
Provide temporary outdoor shelter
If connecting with an animal rescue will take some time, consider providing some temporary outdoor provisions for the stray kitten you spot. Set up a plastic storage bin or cat shelter with some warm bedding to give the kitten respite from the elements.
Supplying food and water nearby will help sustain the kitten while arrangements are made for its rescue.
You can find tips on preparing makeshift shelters on resources like Neighborhood Cats. However, be cautious about fully taking in the kitten on your own. Without veterinary care, very young kittens under 4 weeks old have difficulty regulating their body temperature and can decline rapidly outside a mother’s care.
Wait until morning to decide
According to veterinarians, healthy weaned kittens over 4-5 weeks old have survival instincts that equip them quite well for life outdoors. So if you spot an older juvenile cat crying outside late at night, consider just monitoring it for the time being rather than immediately taking action.
There’s a chance the kitten belongs to someone in the neighborhood and got locked out by accident. According to national lost and found pet databases, over 10% of recovered lost cats were reunited with owners because they ultimately returned home on their own accord.
If the kitten remains on its own through the next morning, contact local rescuers then for assistance. Waiting allows more certainty that the cat is genuinely in need of help rather than interfering with a pet that safely belongs to area residents.
Conclusion
While our instinct is to nurture a helpless kitten, carefully consider their needs and your ability to provide care, especially late at night. With planning and resources, you may still give them a loving home, but it’s best not to rush into bringing home a stray.
